2014_HR_Technology_Trends

HR Technology
Key Trends 2014
www.hrzone.com @HRZone

Contents
1. Impact of the client/vendor relationship
JasonAverbook-ChiefBusinessInnovationOfficer,Appirio
AndyCampbell-HCMStrategyDirector,Oracle
DanielKasmir-ChiefHumanResourcesOfficer,FNZ
2. The device won’t matter
PerryTimms-VisitingFellow,SheffieldHallamBusinessSchool
ChipLuman-ChiefOperatingOfficer,HireVue
LouiseHadland-HRDirector,Shoosmiths
3. The rising importance of
self-service
JoshBersin-FounderPrincipal,BersinbyDeloitte
NicolasRoi-ManagingDirectorUK,SilkRoadTechnology
GrahamSalisbury-HeadofHR,ActionAid
4. Process integration and effective training
AndrewSteels-HRServiceDeliveryPracticeleader,TowersWatson
PeterRussell-Director,HRNEurope
BrianBowden-DirectorofHROperations,AerLingus
5. Data analytics in decision-making
JonIngham-ExecutiveConsultant,StrategicDynamics
LiliyaApostolova-SeniorProductMarketingManager,Lumesse
RobTaffinder-SeniorRecruitmentManager,Nationwide
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1

Impact of the client/
vendor relationship
Jason Averbook - Appirio
When it comes to the relationship between
vendors and customers there are probably
three key concepts that are important for
everyone to understand. When I say everyone,
this is independent of if you are on the vendor
or the customer side and a mastery of these
concepts is guaranteed to create a longer,
richer and fulfilling relationship now and into
the future. These three key concepts, which I
will break down below, are expectation setting,
communication and ongoing transparency.
“...remembering that both
customer and vendor have
responsibilities towards
meeting and exceeding
expectations, the relationship
has a much better chance of
success. ”
Let’s start with expectation setting.
Expectations truly create our “perception” of a
relationship from day one. If expectations are
set and clearly stated as to how a relationship
is going to work and who is responsible
for each aspect of the relationship, and
expectations for the customer and the vendor
during each phase of the relationship are
put into writing - courting, dating, signing
up to be together and ongoing relationship
maintenance – the relationship has what I call
as “barbed wire fence” around it to make sure
it cannot go “off the rails” too badly in any one
direction. There will never be a relationship
between a customer and a vendor that is
perfect and if you are hoping for one, you are
going to be sadly mistaken, but by tackling the
expectation setting upfront for each other, and
remembering that both customer and vendor
have responsibilities towards meeting and
exceeding expectations, the relationship has a
much better chance of success.
This takes us to the next phase of success that
is made up of communication. Communication
is the devil that kills most relationships and
it is not the fact that people don’t talk to
each other, but it is the issue that the right
people are not talking about the right things
at the right time. There are communication
topics that should be happening at executive
levels that are very important to the long
term relationship that never get escalated
for fear of looking bad, and there are issues
that get escalated that make executives “tune
out” and think that either their internal
people or the vendor should be managing
the conversation. I could write forever about
communication styles and plans, but to make
it simple; set up short, frequent reviews
of where the relationship is “truly” at the
executive level, mid manager level and project
About the author
As Chief Business Innovation Officer of information technology consulting company Appirio, Jason leads the
company’s human capital management business. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in the HR and
technology industry, he works closely with customers to creatively drive business outcomes. Jason is deeply involved
in the global HR community and speaks frequently at industry conferences, including HR Technology, IHRIM
and major enterprise software vendor conferences. He also contributes to publications that include Bloomberg
Businessweek and Forbes.
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team level on a weekly basis as well as a strong
communication framework and, once again,
your chances of a successful relationship
skyrocket quickly.
Last but certainly not least is transparency.
In every relationship between customers and
vendors, things go wrong, and these things
are often very important to the success of the
relationship. What kills relationships most
often is a lack of trust and transparency. When
you screw up and don’t staff the project with
the best resources, or your software has a bug,
admit it. If the customer is not meeting their
end of the bargain, call them out on it. Set
an open and transparent dialogue rule from
day one and you will alleviate many of these
simple issues.
What doesn’t get measured doesn’t get
managed. Too many people manage projects
and not relationships. I recommend a green/
yellow/red status be assigned to vendor/
customer relationship on a weekly basis to
guarantee alignment. By having this front
and center, there are no surprises and will
save a ton of time and energy in the long run.
Once again, no relationship is perfect but
by implementing these three key facets of
relationships, your chances of a longer lasting,
more fulfilled union increase exponentially.
vendor relationship
Jason Averbook - Appirio
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vendor relationship
Andy Campbell - Oracle
It is safe to say that talent management
software has, for years now, been a
permanent fixture of the HR department’s
toolbox. However, while it has brought
HR professionals some added insight and
functionality, many organisations still lack
the time and resources required to keep their
software up-to-date and enjoy the full extent
of what it can offer them.
“... the adoption of new
functionality will see
customers require more
frequent and insightful
support than ever.”
Today, cloud-based software solutions
are beginning to change that. The
consumerisation of IT has kicked off an era of
fast-paced innovation and bred a generation
of digital natives hungry for new technologies.
IT vendors have answered the call with
Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud solutions
that provide HR professionals with the
opportunity to extend their capabilities and
gain new flexibility from their IT and, in turn,
improve the services that they can offer to the
business.
These advances have also prompted a
move towards closer relationships between
clients and their software vendors, as
frequent upgrades and the adoption of new
functionality will see customers require more
frequent and insightful support than ever. By
developing these collaborative relationships
with their providers, HR departments will
be in the best position to fully exploit their
software investment.
Staying on the ball
Although HR teams have always made
healthy investments into their software, their
contact with vendors has often focussed on
the occasions when they required a product
upgrade. Cloud-based solutions tend to evolve
much more frequently than traditional on-
premise software and users are reliant upon
vendors for ongoing support rather than their
internal IT department.
Upgrades to a cloud-based software service
are automatically shared with all users of that
particular solution. HR teams that turn to SaaS
can therefore rest assured that they can always
enjoy the latest functionality from their talent
management and HR tools. One key benefit
of this approach is that vendors can step in
and provide clients with the on-going support
they will need to take advantage of their IT
investment and create a better, happier, and
more productive work environment.
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About the author
Andy Campbell has been at Oracle for 18 years. In his current position as HCM Strategy Director for Oracle EMEA he
is actively involved in research and thought leadership activity associated with Oracle’s HCM Cloud propositions.
He combines this role with active engagement with customer executive teams that are looking to embrace the
significant opportunities that are enabled by such capabilities. In his previous positions he has been responsible for
the successful delivery of major business transformation programmes.

Always at your service
For vendors, it has become more important
than ever to build strong, lasting relationships
with their customers. SaaS, as its name
suggests, is as much a service as it is a
product, which implies that IT vendors will be
expected to offer both software and support
in equal measure. This will extend to walking
customers through frequent upgrades and
educating them on the implications of future
enhancements so that they can develop the
most forward-looking HR strategies possible.
The support that clients receive from a
more collaborative cloud vendor will allow
HR teams to spend less time housekeeping
in preparation for the installation of new
technologies, and more time actually enjoying
the innovations they have invested in.
Vendors that provide customers with both
the software and product support they require
will equip them to add real value to their
business, and in turn help drive their success
for years to come.
vendor relationship
Andy Campbell - Oracle
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vendor relationship
Daniel Kasmir - FNZ
Technology in HR has been passively applied
for some time, but now HR must seize the
opportunity to go on the offensive. It must
do more than simply automate simple
processes and instead apply that technology
to truly deliver innovation and competitive
advantage. Grand words. Yet, all too often,
HR people are technology dinosaurs, thinking
about how to police or even whether to allow
access to technology, such as Facebook, in
the workplace rather than embrace it, and
demonstrating a pervading paranoia about
confidentiality of data.
But embrace it they must and with this greater
and more intimate reliance on technology,
HR professionals will need to deal with a
growing number of IT vendors and outsourcing
suppliers. How effectively they manage those
relationships can influence the benefit they
can glean from the technology and influence
the contribution of the HR department.
“Communication is a two-way
process and it’s fashionable to
talk about client and vendor
relationships”
In theory, managing these relationships
should be a walk in the park for HR
professionals. After all, HR is a people-led
profession and understands the importance
of clear and regular communication in any
corporate endeavour. There’s a danger,
however, that there’s too much focus on
the initial contract and features-setting
and not enough on what happens after the
ink is dry. You need to put in the effort to
establish ongoing open and transparent
communication. With that in place, it will
be far easier to analyse which aspects of the
technology or service work well and which
elements need improvement.
Communication is a two-way process and it’s
fashionable to talk about client and vendor
relationships, particularly in outsourcing, as
a partnership or even a marriage, but this just
isn’t the case. In reality, you are paying for a
service and should expect to get what you pay
for. While I believe the idea of a partnership
is not the right idea in this context, it is
important that you develop and maintain
a positive relationship with your supplier
base. The way to ensure that is to have clearly
defined goals and priorities and to ensure
continuity of communication, so that someone
within the team ‘owns’ that relationship.
Relationships with vendors can go wrong
and one of the chief reasons for that is that
the relationship was built on faulty logic
in the first place. It’s all too common, for
example, for HR to be swept along by the push
to outsource as much as possible, in a bid to
cut costs. While outsourcing, when properly
managed, can prove an immensely powerful
About the author
Daniel Kasmir has over 20 years’ experience in senior HR positions in various industries, including Shell UK, Phones
4U, Xchanging and General Atlantic. As Chief Human Resources Officer at FNZ – a technology company that operates
within financial services - he helps the business achieve its ambitious growth targets, through ensuring they have
the best people in the industry who are motivated to succeed.
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and useful corporate tool, you shouldn’t
outsource something just because you can.
Every company is different, but I believe that
outsourcing an area like recruitment is not the
right thing to do, even though many HR
departments have chosen this route. Your
people are your greatest asset, so why would
you pass that responsibility to an outsider?
The control needs to remain very much with
you.
And that’s the key with relationship with
vendors: put the effort in to keep the
relationship positive and open, but also keep
control.
vendor relationship
Daniel Kasmir - FNZ
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The device won’t matter
Perry Timms - Sheffield Hallam Business School
Technology advancements have enabled huge
changes in our lives through how we shop,
work and socialise. The ubiquity of access to
the internet for whatever we want, whenever
we want and largely wherever we want makes
the world a smaller place and our choices
almost endless.
Predicting what will be the device of choice
is taxing consumer electronic giants,
governments and people alike. We know that
consumer technology is very much ahead
of corporate in convenience and use of new
applications.
“We know that consumer
technology is very much
ahead of corporate in
convenience and use of new
applications.”
So be it a tablet, laptop, ultrabook, netbook,
Chromebook, mini tablet, phablet,
smartphone, mini smart phone and of course
a wearable device, the very nature of our
diversified lives means we have choices like
never before. Most of us choose two or three
devices with us at any given time.
What does this mean for HR, HR information
systems and people-related applications?
The obvious one is the dreaded Bring Your Own
Device policy. The majority of technology-
savvy workers don’t need a “you can/can’t”
directive. It is time it was more about “Use
YOD - be aware; be safe” which is less
policy, more guidance on ensuring folks are
compliant with company IT policies and
security protocols.
The other is the rise of mobile as the chosen
internet access device. Website constructs
have to be optimal for the three to five inch
screens of mobile devices but must also fit the
seven to 10 inch screens of tablets. HR isn’t
in charge of screen design but it does need
to know its HR database and performance
management software applications can port
across all device screen sizes and be easy
enough to use.
Many corporate and freelance HR and LD
staff are on the move anyway, so need to
access information on the go at any given
time.
Even device inputs are increasing - keyboards,
stylii, voice recognition, character readers –
again, sometimes down to choice and often
helpful in ensuring people with specific needs
can be enabled by their device.
So why not use the HR Business Partner’s
own device to record the discussion over a
disciplinary? Linked to the company cloud
About the author
Perry Timms is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and a Visiting Fellow at Sheffield Hallam Business School. He
has held corporate roles as Head of Learning, Talent and OD in both the public and not-for-profit sectors, and
lectures on HRM at Birmingham City, Westminster and Dublin City universities. Perry has been leading on business
improvement and change for over 20 years and is currently the Advisor to the CIPD on Social Media Engagement.
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drive where the file is run through transcribing
software and emailed out 30 minutes after the
meeting has concluded. What happens with
the “own device” file? Once it’s clear the file
transfer has been successful, it’s deleted of
course.
Then there’s the LD pro building an online
learning lesson via his tablet and posting it to
the corporate network’s learning platform.
The minute it’s posted, it pings a note to
those learners connected by their phones and
corporate iMacs awaiting the next instalment
in “Web Psychology for Leaders”.
Our corporate networks must be able to
connect to “the internet of things” - i.e.
everything - including all new wearable
technology.
Indeed the device will be like the company car
or the corporate biro. Expected to perform and
be reliable.
So it’s what the device - combined with GPS
and cloud-accessibility - will do for us that
matters.
The device itself - personal choices not
withstanding - simply doesn’t matter.
Perry Timms - Sheffield Hallam Business School
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Chip Luman - HireVue
When it comes to hiring top talent, recruiters
and hiring managers have a competitive
advantage when they’re in the right place
at the right time – even when they’re on-
the-go. According to IDC, 70% of all workers
have some mobility in their jobs. Forbes also
estimates that 23% of keyword searches that
contain the word “job” come from mobile
devices. But alarmingly, a recent study
found that only 7% employers have a mobile
version of their career website and only 3%
of employers have a mobile job app (source:
Mashable).
Today’s talent pool is everywhere, so the
only way companies can effectively reach and
engage them is by finding them where they
are. A challenging proposition. Tools and
technology are available to help eliminate
the challenges standing between companies
and top talent – challenges such as time
zone differences, travel costs and scheduling
nightmares.
“The increased adoption
of mobile will also make it
infinitely easier for the HR
function to do its core job”
How will this influence the development of
HR technology in the near term? In short,
mobile will officially transition from being
a “trend” in human capital management to
the widespread norm, and companies who
lag behind will continue to miss out on top
talent. Mobile will also take a bigger role
across all phases of the talent management
lifecycle – from sourcing to screening and
interviewing to onboarding. To deliver on
this, mobile technology catered toward HCM
will expand dramatically, with functionality
such as on-demand interviewing, enterprise
integration and responsive design becoming
more prevalent.
The increased adoption of mobile will also
make it infinitely easier for the HR function
to do its core job – find, vet, hire and onboard
great talent. Specifically, there are three
benefits mobile technologies can power:
• speeding up the hiring process,
• providing reporting and analytics, and
• integrating with other recruiting
technologies to improve efficiency overall.
Through HireVue’s own customer base, we’ve
estimated mobile tools allow companies to
interview candidates up to 10 times’ faster
than traditional methods.
For candidates, mobile tools allow them to
respond to interview questions at their own
convenience, leaving them with a better
opinion of the company as an employment
About the author
Chip Luman is the Chief Operating Officer at HireVue. He previously served as senior vice president of HR Shared
Services and Total Rewards at Charles Schwab and Co., where he led a team of up to 100. He also filled the role of vice
president of HR for Client Services during his tenure at Schwab. Luman has also held extensive HR and management
background positions at Marathon Oil, Pepsi Cola and Acclaim Entertainment, where he led the video game
development division in 2000.
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brand of choice. And the power of mobile
won’t stop at sourcing and interviewing, but
will more frequently extend into onboarding
and employee engagement. For instance, more
and more companies are offering employees
access to corporate intranet, scheduling
information and training programs via their
smartphones. A relative newcomer to this list
is the use of mobile technology to help, at least
in part, with performance management.
Mobile can streamline and super-charge your
sourcing, interviewing and vetting efforts,
and is a proven win-win for companies
and candidates. While companies enjoy
the benefits of time efficiency, enhanced
branding opportunities via video, and access
to a broader talent pool they can engage
with in real-time, candidates appreciate the
convenience of interacting with companies
this way. In 2014, mobile will be the must-
have tool in any HR executive’s toolkit to help
bring best-in-class talent to the table faster
and better than before.
Chip Luman - HireVue
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Louise Hadland - Shoosmiths
It was Martyn Best who said: ‘Don’t focus on
the machines, focus on the people...people
will always outwit machines, make sure you
side with the eventual victor’.
From my perspective, wise words as for each
individual there is a mindset driving the device
of choice.
“...employees are looking for
a single solution to juggling
multiple devices and keeping
them synchronised.”
We need to balance the disparity in device
preference between technological competence
in different employment groups within
businesses.
From digital natives, present teenagers soon
to become tomorrow’s employees and clients/
customers to the subconscious user, the
technophobes who are engaged with their
smart phones and apps yet don’t recognise
the connection with enterprise mobile and its
application in the work place. Then crossing
this blurred line of competence is the pressure
to ‘keep up with the Joneses’. That oh-so-
human failing, if indeed it is perceived as a
failing, of the pressure brought to bear by
high achievers in the business to sport the
latest technological device for social standing
purposes in both business and private lives.
Such demands have been the cause of many a
grey hair in IS managers.
Will a one-size-fits-all device really meet
this broad spectrum of individual need and
ability? Doubtful must be the answer yet we
are constantly fed the message that today’s
employees are looking for a single solution to
juggling multiple devices and keeping them
synchronised.
However, it begs the question: would
employees be happy with multiple devices if
they all synchronised automatically?
Home and flexible working exacerbate this
need and in some professions home working
has been replaced with ‘home at the office’
where showering and breakfast are daily
features of office working. Whichever way
round this is viewed, depending on individual
preference and need, the solution has to
lie in integration rather than single device
solutions.
Even if we managed to get all employees
trained and engaged with a single solution
approach to enterprise mobile the speed of
change and constant innovation in mobile
technology would mean that if a business
relied upon one solution it would soon be
outdone by its competitors who may be more
About the author
Louise Hadland is HR Director at national law firm Shoosmiths. As such, Louise is responsible for ensuring that
the strategic profile of the firm’s staff is best suited to delivering its stated goals and objectives. Before joining
Shoosmiths in May 1999, Louise worked in Personnel Management for the Volkswagen Group UK Ltd, building an HR
specialisation on a general management background developed in both public and private sectors.
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fleet of foot and able to implement device
solutions for smaller groups of people.
Technology, be it cloud, device or app is not
the thing that is going to help businesses
change to become more successful in their
chosen markets; it is not the reason to do
things, it is an enabler. Strategy starts with
the goals of the business, not the latest
technological trend. Once the strategy is
defined, the goals clearly identified and
communicated, then – and only then – should
the available technology be considered as a
solution. Factor in individual difference, the
speed of change and the highly competitive
markets and the ‘the device won’t matter’ has
to become ‘the device can’t matter’.
Louise Hadland - Shoosmiths
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The rising importance of
self-service
Josh Bersin - Bersin by Deloitte
Self-service HR platforms have really
transformed the role of the HR organisation.
If you can implement tools to let employees
manage their profile, benefits, time and
attendance, vacation, travel and expense,
performance plans, goals, and training –
you’ve unloaded a significant amount of
effort from the HR team. Now if you’re
enabling managers to open job requisitions,
view candidate flow, manage performance
appraisals, and analyse and input salary
adjustments, you’ve gone even further.
These are all time-intensive applications
that typically take many hours of an HR
generalist’s time.
This is not to say that “self-service” is easy.
What started as an HR portal that provided
simple applications, such as benefits
communication and administration, has now
become an entire array of talent management
applications that employees and managers
don’t know how to use. So even if you do
embrace a self-service strategy your HR team
still has to teach people how to use the system
and how to adopt the process.
“Companies including Apple
and Amazon have proven that
simplicity creates scale.”
But even in this self-service environment, we
have to push harder to make HR systems easy
to use so that our valued HR professionals can
serve as advisors, coaches, consultants, and
strategic change managers.
Among the keys to success:
• Select HR software that is already integrated
wherever possible, and err on the side of a
simpler process in every case. It is tempting to
offer employees lots of options, but ultimately
they won’t use them. Simpler is better.
• When selecting vendors, talk with their
references and understand how easy it was to
get users to adopt the application. You may
find certain systems exciting and filled with
features but your employees and managers
may find them hard to use.
• Focus your program designs on fewer steps,
simpler competency models, fewer options,
and generally a simpler design. Learning
programs, performance evaluation, goal-
setting, and even benefits can be dizzyingly
complex if you’re not careful. Rather than six
steps reduce it to three. Companies including
Apple and Amazon have proven that simplicity
creates scale.
• Train your HR staff intensely. Your HR
team must understand all areas of talent
management as much as possible, so they can
About the author
Josh Bersin founded Bersin in 2001 to provide research and advisory services focused on corporate learning. He is
responsible for Bersin by Deloitte’s long term strategy and market eminence. Josh is a frequent speaker at industry
events and has been quoted on talent management topics in key media, including Harvard Business Review, The Wall
Street Journal, Bloomberg, on BBC Radio, CBS Radio and National Public Radio.
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both show employees how to use the system
and advise them on being better recruiters,
managers, coaches, and learners. Companies
spend less than $300 per HR staff per year on
internal HR training. You should be spending
three-to-four times this much – your HR team
is creating tremendous value and they need
expertise, just like your employees.
• Spend time developing simple dashboards
and reports that deliver actionable
information to managers. While many
managers will ask for reports and charts to
analyse data, our research shows that more
effective organisations provide single-
purpose charts. For example, offer one chart
on turnover, one chart on compensation
comparison, one chart that shows tenure.
These single-purpose analytics give managers
just enough information to make decisions.
Behind the scenes you can build lots of fancy
analytics to understand all the people data
– just remember managers will not want or
understand all that detail.
Self-service is an old-fashioned term that
should probably go away. In today’s HR
technology environment we simply want
systems which are simple, easy to use,
available on mobile devices, and provide high
value services. If we keep our designs simple,
charts easy to understand, and focus on “one-
click” solutions wherever possible, our HR
staff will be freed up to focus on more strategic
value.
Remember Occam’s Razor: when two
different scientific findings or hypotheses are
compared, the simpler one is more likely to be
fit for purpose. In HR the same thing is true:
keep it simple and it will more likely work
well.
The rising importance
of self-service
Josh Bersin - Bersin by Deloitte
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self-service
Nicholas Roi - Silkroad UK
The HR director does not work in data entry.
Their primary role should not be about
collecting birthday dates or entering sick leave
into a spreadsheet; instead they should be
making strategic decisions based on HR data.
The key to this is ‘self service.’ Requiring
employees to take responsibility for reporting
on sick leave and holiday, keeping an accurate
record of personal details and completing
expenses and overtime details, amongst other
HR duties, means your dedicated HR staff can
get on with the jobs that really matter to your
business. So how will the development of ‘self
service’ impact your HR team as we move into
2014?
Employee satisfaction
Empowering the employee with HR duties
means they become responsible for their
own career paths, job roles, benefits and
remuneration. It also means that managers
can perform certain designated HR tasks like
promotions and pay rises without having
to heavily involve the HR department. The
key to this is ensuring your employees have
the ability to input their own data. Mobile-
friendly solutions are essential for employees
working in ‘blue collar’ industries who may
not always have access to computers. Site
managers, for example, can designate a time
every quarter in which everyone spends an
hour ensuring their records are accurate.
Another emerging trend will see employees’
skills better utilised as they enter information
relating to competencies that may not be key
to their day-to-day roles. If as an organisation
you’re not developing and assessing employee
skill sets, then you may be sitting on untapped
talent you’ll never be aware of and won’t be
able to use.
“The key to this is ensuring
your employees have the
ability to input their own
data.”
Data and analytics
By making the employee responsible for
their own HR data your business benefits
from up-to-date, accurate information,
from which managers can make informed
decisions. This makes it easy for management
to undertake performance appraisals.
Traditionally this type of appraisal would
involve multiple spreadsheets flowing from
different departments to HR before being
collated and sent back to middle management
– a hugely time consuming, inaccurate and
unsecure approach. Even better, because
HR departments know that HR data is being
managed on a team by team level, they can
extract reports regarding the whole workforce
or just a single department. Automated
software enables them to extract the HR
intelligence they need, when they need it.
About the author
Nicholas Roi is managing director UK at SilkRoad Technology, which has been providing talent management solution
globally since 2003. Nicholas has over 11 years’ software experience and eight years’ experience in the talent
management and SAAS space. Six of the last eight years have been spent as operational and country head. Prior
to becoming the managing director of the UK operation, Nicholas started the SilkRoad Australia and New Zealand
offices in 2008.
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Flexible workforce
In today’s increasingly flexible working
environment it is time consuming and
difficult for HR teams to keep track of a
mobile workforce. A cloud solution means
that wherever and whenever an employee
has access to the internet, they are able to
update their HR data. This turns an impossible
task into a manageable one and will become
more important as businesses seek out the
best talent from all over the world. The next
stage from a self-service perspective is apps
designed to facilitate accurate entry of data. As
mentioned above, there are a lot of employees
that either won’t be able to access a PC or will
only be able to occasionally. In future they’ll
download HR apps which will automatically
integrate with company systems, so managers
can ensure accurate, up to date records.
The challenge for companies is ensuring
accurate HR data input – one that should be
addressed during employee onboarding. It’s
as easy for a worker to forget to update an HR
department on a change of address, as it is for
them to forget to enter their new details into
the company’s HR software. Employees need
to understand that a failure to maintain their
records will hamper their employer’s ability
to reward them for excellent performance.
This is not to say that employees should be
abandoned and told to get on with it, but
instead of them emailing the HR department
every time they have a query, middle
management and line managers should be on
hand to help with basic HR functions, and time
in the working day should be assigned to the
self service process. Advanced HR software
is designed to error check at the field worker
level and as more company systems move
into the cloud and link together, information
only needs to be entered once for every
department, from payroll and performance.
‘Self-service’ is an HR enabler – it frees
up valuable HR staff to address actual HR
problems, it empowers management to
accurately feed back to their team members
and it gives employees more control over their
personal details and HR records – the sooner
it’s implemented in your organisation, the
sooner you’ll benefit from it.
of self-service
Nicholas Roi - Silkroad UK
In association with
17

self-service
Graham Salisbury - ActionAid
Call me a Luddite (and many often do!) but
I am far from convinced that the predicted
explosion of deregulated and decentralised
mobile technology-centred employee self-
service is going to have the universal impact
that is sometimes claimed.
To be honest it appears to be a solution to a
problem that many of us are not even certain
that we have.
And, let’s admit it; many organisations are
yet to embrace the opportunities offered by
technology to address even the administrative
challenges of recording sickness absence and
booking annual leave. These organisations are
not (as is sometimes portrayed) intrinsically
evil dinosaurs, but they are ones for whom
doing things “the old-fashioned way” is
preferable, simply because it works. It may be
heresy to say such things, but there are some
organisations that actually like yellow holiday
booking forms!
“... many organisations
are yet to embrace the
opportunities offered by
technology...”
The prediction also fails to address that for
many organisations, the introduction of
basic HR technology has not yet delivered its
promised benefits.
Particularly in a climate of tightly controlled
expenditure on HR costs and limited
opportunity for investment in any form of
non-essential infrastructure, the pressure on
the HRD to demonstrate tangible cost-savings
and Return on Investment is increasingly
critical.
The challenge faced by the majority of HR
functions remains that which has been the
case for decades; how to attract, reward,
motivate and retain an effective group of
employees. Any introduction of a different
way of doing things, or a way of doing new
things, needs to be able to justify how it will
contribute to meeting the challenge above.
On a purely practical note, the growth of
employee self-service assumes that the
majority of organisations already have
effectively-functioning IT systems which allow
a high degree of interfacing with external
applications. In my experience, that it simply
not the case. The wide range of alternatives
even in choosing which web browser to use
leads to headaches in implementing changes,
where compatibility issues prevent successful
implementation.
About the author
Graham Salisbury is Head of HR at human rights and poverty alleviation charity ActionAid, where he is committed
to embracing the ethos of sharing and co-operation on which the charity sector thrives. His areas of expertise
include understanding and implementing HR Business Partner models, managing complex organisational change
and selecting and implementing appropriate HR Information Systems. He was previously HR Business Partner at
Amnesty International as well as an HR Consultant with Tearfund.
In association with
18

If you’re not convinced by my words of
wariness, cast your mind back a couple of
decades to the days when the arrival of
“Cafeteria Benefits” was announced within
the HR community. Apparently employees
would be able to largely determine their own
ultimate remuneration package, exchanging a
company car (remember those?) for a higher
salary, accepting reduced employer-side
pensions contributions in return for higher
pay, or purchasing additional annual leave
from their employer. Let’s just put it this way:
in 2014 there are not many items on the menu
in the HR Cafeteria nor are there too many
customers queuing up for (self) service!
One tip (or possibly it’s a plea) to those
wishing to sell me a self-service product
(and if you use the word “solution” I will cast
you out of my office!): speak my language,
and don’t expect me to learn to speak yours.
If you claim that your “innovative solution
leverages recent developments in cloud-based
technology thereby maximising employee
engagement across multiple platforms” I
will stare at you blankly. Actually, better still,
make sure that you speak the language of
the Finance Director, as it is he/she who will
ultimately approve or reject the necessary
investment in your product or service.
of self-service
Graham Salisbury - ActionAid
In association with
19

Process integration and
effective training
Andrew Steels - Towers Watson
As the primary purpose of HR technology
business cases is to secure funding, they
typically focus on long-term efficiency and
financial gains without adequately considering
the risks – especially the risk of poor
organisational adoption. In addition to proving
that the investment provides an acceptable
rate of return, they also need to convey to
key stakeholders the overarching vision
for undertaking the HR initiative, and that
the plan to achieve the vision is sound and
based on fact and reasonable assumptions. A
common flaw in business cases is to ignore the
emotional and change management aspects
that are critical to success.
“...HR’s impact can be
transformed by technology,
with HR programmes more
accurately tailored and
targeted as a result.”
Driving organisational adoption by only selling
improved efficiency and financial gain to
users just doesn’t work. Experience suggests
that users need to be able to do things they
couldn’t do before and achieve demonstrably
better outcomes – and to do it with ease. Given
the financial investment in new HR systems,
organisations are also looking for a dramatic
impact on the business: simply integrating
new technology with existing processes does
not generate the kind of ‘returns’ that are
required.
Rather, the most successful initiatives use
the implementation of technology as an
opportunity to challenge how HR goes about
its business end-to-end, applying the same
transformational guiding principles to both
technology and non-technological changes.
Often organisations are looking to cut through
organisational inertia in order to establish
enterprise-wide consistency in the way HR
work is done, with local variations only where
necessary. This extends to revising how HR
work is organised as well as how it is delivered,
with revisions to roles and accountabilities
being at least as significant as the technology.
Additionally, enhanced capabilities in how
HR can be measured means that HR’s impact
can be transformed by technology, with HR
programmes more accurately tailored and
targeted as a result.
The new generation of cloud-based HR
systems pride themselves on their ease of use,
providing a consumer-grade experience with
a minimal ‘time to competence’. Often such
systems provide several ways to achieve the
same result, with users being able to adopt the
one that makes the most sense to them. Many
users are now able to navigate this learning
About the author
Andrew Steels is Towers Watson’s HR Service Delivery Practice leader for the UK specialising in improving HR
function effectiveness. Based in Towers Watson’s London Office, Andrew advises large organisations on areas such
as the design of their HR Services function, developing global HR processes and post-merger HR integration and has
worked across a variety of industries including energy, finance, telecoms and professional services. Before joining
Towers Watson, Andrew was a Senior Manager at a ‘Big Four’ professional services firm.
In association with
20

curve with minimal external interference
– including the regular upgrades that are
often a feature of such technology. However,
segmenting the population and tailoring
learning interventions accordingly is the key
to success. In our experience, we also find that
involving users throughout considerably eases
adoption – as long as meaningful influence is
transferred throughout the process of design
and implementation.
Many organisations therefore positively seek
out the disturbance that new HR technology
can bring to how HR services are delivered
and experienced – the challenge being to
maximise the anticipated benefits while
mitigating the downside of radically new
ways of delivering HR. The good news is that
although changes need to be radical to be
justifiable, they are increasingly manageable
by those experiencing them – aided by more
user-friendly technology and increasingly
sophisticated approaches to design and
implementation.
effective training
Andrew Steels - Towers Watson
In association with
21

effective training
Peter Russell - HRN Europe
Whatever workforce or HR technology an
organisation finally decides upon, and
regardless of who the vendor is, the real crux
of its success is always going to be how useable
it is, how well it is implemented, integrated,
and championed inside the organisation.
Technology is advancing so fast that many find
it a struggle to keep pace - the result is that all
too often many in management don’t have the
time, and in a handful of cases the inclination,
so they continue to do things as they have
always done them and due to poor engagement
the user adoption of new investments in
technology falls away - anecdotal evidence
suggests that many new initiatives are only
being used and exploited to around 50% of
their capability.
A look at a few of the latest technology
developments will reveal just how important
it is for companies to focus on integrating
technology with existing business processes
and ensuring users have the knowledge and
skills to utilise it productively.
Mobile technology has a very high priority on
the shopping lists of HR technology buyers
and sourcers; there are several reasons why.
Not only is it essential in today’s connected
world, it is also technology they know their
people will use – most people carry a mobile
at all times and are relative experts in using it
- and this ability to be assured of the usability
of the technology is a significant benefit when
it comes to the successful implementation of
new technology.
Technology that analyses data and offers
practical business insights is not new. What
is new is the sheer volume of data available
and also the depth and detail to be found in
it. Data has become “Big” and HR decision-
makers need to know what it is they really
want, and they need to understand how
to ask the right questions to generate the
desired outcome in terms of analysis. Often
the latter is not the case and the result is
disappointment and disenchantment and the
“software” gets the blame. Generally speaking
the more innovative the technology is, the
more companies must have a clear path to
successful integration and user uptake.
“...anecdotal evidence
suggests that many new
initiatives are only being used
and exploited to around 50%
of their capability.”
Cloud technology is another emerging area.
Most companies that haven’t gone this route
yet will do so in the near future - it is now
About the author
Peter Russell is a Director of HRN Europe – The Pan European HR Network, which has grown from an online research
community/CHRO Roundtable to the largest corporate HR network in Europe. Working together with leading
disrupters and influencers, their research and events bring people the useful corporate and educational patterns and
predictors that generate insight into the world of work. Learn more and join their network at
www.hrtecheurope.com.
In association with
22

considered by most a “core” technology. The
key to the success of any cloud solution is
always going to be the user interface - it needs
to be simple, easy to use and attractive to the
eye. A major multinational we recently spoke
with revealed they spent more time on the
design of icons than on anything else during
a recent implementation. This very clearly
underlines how the interaction between the
software and the user is key to whether HR
technology will succeed or fail.
Earlier in the autumn, prior to HR Tech Europe
2013, we surveyed our enterprise members
and some of the results were interesting.
Over 60% planned to increase spending, and
furthermore 81% of respondents indicated
they planned to implement a SaaS solution
in the near future. And, while our survey
indicated there is still some room for
improvement when it comes to satisfaction
with after sales service and value for money,
86% of organisations surveyed were happy
with the quality of systems and applications
on offer.
HR software is evolving; it’s improving all the
time. This is exciting for organisations because
the potential for the benefits it can bring to
their organisations is considerable. But they
have to remember that usability and the ability
of staff to fully utilise the system are key – and
will always be key - to ensuring long-term
success.
effective training
Peter Russell - HRN Europe
In association with
23

effective training
Brian Bowden - Aer Lingus
There are really two questions raised within
this proposition:
• Are potential efficiencies categorised and
presented appropriately within business
cases?
• How are potential efficiencies best realised?
Categorisation is the key to the first question.
While some efficiencies, usually within HR
Admin functions, will deliver headcount
reductions and therefore direct bottom line
savings, other efficiencies arising will not
necessarily deliver a bottom line saving – they
will however free the time of management
and employees for more important or strategic
tasks.
These latter efficiencies are still tremendously
valuable and it is entirely appropriate to
include them in business cases. However it
is also vital to be clear from the outset as to
how the value arises - otherwise the post-
implementation benefits realisation review
could be a fraught affair where direct bottom
line effect is sought for changes whose value
cannot be demonstrated in that way. This
is best addressed through an alternative
measurable mechanism. We used an objective
3rd company to break down % time on tasks
for indirectly affected staff. This enabled us
to demonstrate the time (and therefore cost)
associated with tasks that would be removed
by the system, thereby showing the value of
changes even where these staff remained in
the business.
“To me the emphasis
therefore needs to be on
communications rather than
training.”
On the second question I think we need to be
careful not to pander to existing processes just
to drive system usage. While we need people
to use the system, ultimately efficiencies
that derive from people using a system come
from them doing the right things more
efficiently. Systemising bad processes to
garner support will only end up bringing your
new system into disrepute. Our approach
when implementing our integrated payroll
HR system was to challenge existing processes
(especially those that were HR-owned) but
to respect business concerns on key existing
systems and processes. For example, while
we changed many HR processes (we went
with an outsourced service as well as a system
solution) we did not insist that our Learning
Management System replace local operational
systems (which hold regulatory training
information). By building interfaces from
these systems to the LMS we can allow the
About the author
Brian is Director of HR Operations at Aer Lingus. His role includes responsibility for the delivery of HR
Transformation. This has seen Aer Lingus outsource HR administration and implement an integrated Payroll HR
system. He has previously worked in a range of senior HR, commercial and planning roles. He holds an MBS in HR
strategies from Dublin City University and is a graduate of the Advanced Executive HR programme at Ross Business
School at the University of Michigan.
In association with
24

business to build trust before ceding control.
However to build this trust, the system has
to prove its worth (helped by incorporating
improvements to existing processes that were
not fit for purpose).
I don’t buy into the need for extensive
competency training. We live in a world of
intuitive technology – outside of the work
environment we tolerate very little that is
more than two easy clicks away. The workplace
should be no different – if you need extensive
training in your system you have to ask
whether you have the right solution. If you
want regular users, make the system easy to
use rather than resourcing elaborate training
for a challenging system. To me the emphasis
therefore needs to be on communications
rather than training. Key to this is getting
champions within key areas of the business.
Utilise these to both champion your message
but also as your vehicle for understanding and
negotiating the genuine issues and concerns
within each area. In communicating your own
message you can readily address the “what’s
in it for me?” question, and the answer to this
can range from “an easier life” to “new toys”
to “better data” depending on the internal
audience.
effective training
Brian Bowden - Aer Lingus
In association with
25

Data analytics in
decision-making
Jon Ingham - Strategic Dynamics
It is absolutely correct to say that business
leaders are not interested in HR data.
Analytics helps provide intelligence from all
of this information and it is this intelligence,
which helps companies gain even greater
competitive success through their people, that
business leaders absolutely want.
Analytics is an important part of putting this
intelligence together and HR practitioners
should be better informed and skilled
in this area than we often are. We have
seen substantial advances in tools and
technologies, approaches and case studies.
In addition, as the amount of complexity of
information within the ‘big data’ era grows,
the need to find signals in all this noise
increases in importance too. Therefore, the
more we know about and understand what
analytics can provide, the better positioned we
become to take advantage of best analytical
practices ourselves.
“The more clarity we have
about what is important and
what we are trying to do, the
more powerful the use of
analytics becomes.”
At the same time, most business leaders are
not terribly interested in lots of analytics
either. My worry about overdoing our focus in
this area is that whilst it may help us climb out
of the process monkey role that we often get
trapped within, becoming a data monkey or
even an analytics monkey does not really help
move us on!
The key enabler to better decision-making is
not analytics but strategic insight supported
by ambition and inspiration. These provide
the context for asking questions about
whether our business is working or not, or for
increasing our understanding about the way
it works. Analytics simply provide one means
of answering these questions. So if HR wants
to be a respected heavyweight in business
strategy, data analytics are necessary but not
sufficient.
This applies whether we are an HR practitioner
reviewing how we manage talent across the
organisation, or a business leader or line
manager wanting to better manage their
business area or team. The more clarity we
have about what is important and what we
are trying to do, the more powerful the use of
analytics becomes.
Having this clarity also helps us reduce the
waste of time, and the tendency to rely on
spurious correlations, that often comes with a
fishing trip approach (one based on looking for
About the author
Jon Ingham is an analyst, consultant, blogger and speaker focusing on strategic human capital management, social
HR and management 2.0. He originally worked as an IT consultant and has maintained an interest in technology
since then. However, he also suggests that the reason he has been spending more time advising on HR technology is
that the strategic opportunities provided by this have been growing so rapidly recently. He has also chaired the HR
Tech Europe conference in Amsterdam for the last three years.
In association with
26

random insights that emerge out of the data.)
The same principle applies to analytics
systems, or analytic capabilities of other talent
management systems – today’s technologies
make it easier to perform analytical tests
or conduct analytical investigation into an
organisation’s people data but the value of
these activities will be much higher when
combined with a smart, strategic approach and
clarity about what is important.
There are aspects of HR that can be thought of
as data science and the latest technologies can
help us move towards this approach. However,
the most important aspects of HR have always
been, and will always continue to be, art. Data
analytics approaches and technologies do not
change this important fact.
Data analytics in
decision-making
Jon Ingham - Strategic Dynamics
In association with
27

Data analytics in
decision-making
Liliya Apostolova - Lumesse
More than 60% of companies are investing in
big data and analytics to help make their HR
departments more data-driven, according to
research analysts, Bersin by Deloitte. What has
sparked this upward trend in data analytics?
The power of data to inform decision making
at the highest level and to measure the return
on investment (ROI) of HR’s approach.
The value of data
Traditionally, talent management was
perceived within a business to be important
enough to not require a business case or proof
of ROI. However, following research that we
conducted this year alongside leadership
specialists, Cirrus, we have found that this
is no longer the case. Most HR professionals
we interviewed said that they feel pressure to
present a strong business case to make sure
they received the investment, resources and
support required for their talent initiatives.
They also felt their existing ROI model and
metrics weren’t doing their success justice.
According to Bersin, organisations using data
to its full potential are twice as likely to be
delivering high impact recruiting solutions,
and their leadership pipelines are 2.5X
healthier. Companies using data properly
generate high returns for their hard work:
their stock market returns are 30% higher than
the SP 500.
For many companies data and analysis hold
the answer to getting the right insight. By
helping HR departments spot trends and
patterns in data they are in a better place to
understand the impact of their HR approaches
and use this intelligence to inform future
strategic decisions.
“For many companies data
and analysis hold the answer
to getting the right insight.”
For example, talent managers may use
analytics to find out whether their most
valuable asset –employees - are aligned with
the goals of, and contributing to, the overall
success of your business, They may use it to
answer questions such as: Who is your top
talent? How aligned is talent to business goals
and focused on things that matter and drive
business? What risks do you face if top talent
goes unrecognised? Analytics can reveal the
exposure and impact on the position, and
highlight the benchmark strengths for specific
roles across the organisation.
The data challenge
What organisations need today is to receive
timely and actionable information about their
workforce so employees can deliver more
business value. That’s where HR comes in and
will be the syndicate, analyst and consultant to
the business.
About the author
Liliya brings over eight years of product marketing experience in the high-tech sector to her position as Senior
Product Marketing Manager at Lumesse. She is passionate about HR technology and talent management trends. Liliya
has held progressive marketing roles for both large organisations and small start-ups including Talent Technology,
ActiveState, Faronics and ACL. She brings an international perspective with her experience in both North America
and Europe and holds a B.Comm in Marketing from the University of British Columbia. Liliya is Pragmatic Marketing
Certified.
In association with
28

Yet, the volume of data, the speed at which
it is created and the variety of data sources
are growing exponentially as the speed of
technology adoption accelerates. This has
been driven by the technology revolution -
social, web and mobile channels – which have
given HR access to a huge amount of valuable
employee data.
This data can be challenging for HR leaders
as it is often sitting in siloes across multiple
systems and channels – such as recruiting,
performance, learning, social and mobile.
Lumesse is taking this issue on board by
offering an open platform with a unified
reporting layer which can be integrated
with a number of different HR systems –
providing unified analytics and reports. This
means companies can choose the best mix
of technology for their needs while keeping
the advantage of visibility into data across
multiple systems and platforms.
By analysing the links between recruitment,
talent and business metrics, HR will be in a
better position to put in place and measure
a strategy that aligns with the business and
ultimately improves the bottom line. However,
technology is a key enabler of data gathering
and analytics. Only the right technologies
will give you the right data. And only an open
platform will help HR to integrate systems and
ensure HR stay on top of the latest technology.
This in turn will enable you to meet the ever
changing requirements of recruitment and
talent management, without compromising
the ability to provide actionable business
information.
Data analytics in
decision-making
Liliya Apostolova - Lumesse
In association with
29

Data analytics in
decision-making
Rob Taffinder - Nationwide
The resourcing department at Nationwide
Building Society is charged with delivering key
services to a broad base of customers; hiring
the best of the new talent, quickly, whilst
also balancing cost factors. Making the right
decisions is key to ensuring that this service
is delivered and proves the value of our in-
house function. However, a competitive online
recruitment landscape, the introduction
of social media and new job websites have
complicated the hiring process and made
delivering an optimum service a tough
challenge.
“Data analysis - inspecting,
cleaning, transforming,
and modelling data - with
the goal of discovering
useful information, was the
answer.”
Three years ago we would have used a range
of knowledge sources to inform resourcing
decisions and to keep pace with this challenge.
These included historical track record,
traditional media sources and insight from
external hiring agencies which were using data
analytics to develop their knowledge of the
market. Gathering this type of understanding
and using external experts was time intensive
and had cost implications on the business.
We found that we were, at times, duplicating
routes to market, and this directly impacted
on service.
We needed an analytical approach that would
help us better inform the decision-making
process and make sure that we could track and
measure our plans. Data analysis - inspecting,
cleaning, transforming, and modelling
data - with the goal of discovering useful
information, was the answer.
We decided to use raw data from every source
available; contact management technology
systems, mobile platforms and HR systems
– including those that powered our career
portal – to analyse and track candidate profile
and demographics. As a result, we could
spot any trends and patterns that would
help us to make better resourcing decisions.
For example, tracking hits to our website
and recording visitor detail – including
demographics, specific interests and lead
conversion rates - enabled us to understand
how effective we are at converting candidates
through a process, and how effective our
career website is at turning leads into potential
candidates over a period of time, This is crucial
to help us spot what has worked, when and
why.
We realised that this data could also help
us understand which social and traditional
platforms would reach potential candidates
About the author
Rob Taffinder is a senior recruitment manager with a strong track record of delivery in both in-house and agency
fields. Experience has included working on key start up projects, business turnaround, MSP management,
restructuring of teams and BAU delivery of over 2000 permanent and over 1000 interim appointments annually.
In association with
30

and bolster conversion rates. For example, we
previously would use external hiring agencies
to recruit project managers as these vacancies
came in large batches of 20-30 at any one
time. For a recent project manager recruiting
campaign, we analysed data to direct source
individuals and candidates that we had been
‘pipelining’ – those the in-house team had
identified as potential candidates. For this
specific campaign, we discovered that Twitter
was the best platform to engage and educate
this demographic on the benefits of working
for Nationwide. Following this process we
ran two hiring assessment centres and hired
approximately 60% of attending candidates.
The benefits of using data and analytics are
plentiful. We’re able to credibly advise on
the best routes to market, challenge pre-
conceived ideas that exist within the business
and deliver more effectively from a time and
cost perspective. Ultimately, we can get to
market with the right decisions and hire the
right candidates, quicker in the race for talent.
In 2014, we’ll be working on the education and
skills development that accompanies HR data
analysis and the use of it within the business.
Data is worthless unless you can effectively
gather and analyse it to spot important trends
and patterns. The data used needs to map
back to the business objectives and answer
questions that already exist – it should
support an argument but not be the argument.
Ultimately, it should support the human and
personal element of a resourcing programme –
not replace it.
Data analytics in
decision-making
Rob Taffinder - Nationwide
In association with
31

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